Animal Welfare

[Anchor Lead]

A puma that escaped a zoo cage due to poor oversight was shot dead Tuesday. Many argue the animal should have been capture alive. The zoo said the shooting was inevitable for the safety of local residents butthe incident has brewed controversy overanimal welfare.

[Pkg]

A female puma on the loose was spotted three times inside the zoo. A tranquilizer dart was used in the first instance after which she fled amid the second encounter. Then when a hound tracked down the puma the third time around, officials shot her to death.

[Soundbite] Kim Hyeok(Daejeon Branch, Nat'l Wildlife Management Association) : "The puma sprung out toward people and it was shot 3 times. (Did it run toward a person?) It was headed in the direction of where people were."

Citizens are fuming online saying little effort was made to capture the animal alive. Some are saying it is heartbreaking to see the puma killed in the way it was after spending a lifetime locked in a cage. A public petition has emerged on the presidential office's website demanding the closure of the zoo. The petition garnered ten-thousand signatures in one hour.

[Soundbite] Jeon Bo-gyeong(Visitor, Daejeon O-World) : "A human mistake caused the puma to leave the enclosure. At the end of the day, it was shot to death for human convenience. It's very regrettable."

But there are others saying the shooting was inevitable because a puma is a predator. The zoo said the animal could have fled and had to be shot for the safety of citizens, but the dispute refuses to subside.

[Soundbite] Lee Hyeong-joo(President, AWARE) : "There should be a thorough review on whether the utmost effort was made in that situation to capture the puma alive."

Critical public views against the shooting and death of the puma are spreading wider regarding the debate on animal welfare.